FCF Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

FCF Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 44.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,622 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,440 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.5% of FCF Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.3% in the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 485 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 61,803 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $35,379,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.3% during the third quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 4,156 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% during the third quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 21,684 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,413,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 90.0% in the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 114 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $647.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $601.08.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $4.51 on Tuesday, hitting $589.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,182,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,442,146. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $529.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $503.17. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total transaction of $523,587.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,102 shares in the company, valued at $20,308,262.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total value of $8,916,696.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,104,462.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $578.55, for a total value of $523,587.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,308,262.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 282,621 shares of company stock worth $148,657,449 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.